The Los Angeles Design Challenge always brings some crazy idea, but this year one in particular caught our attention: The Mercedes-Benz BIOME concept car. It's an eco-friendly, biodegradable, ultra-light hybrid vehicle—which would be custom grown in a lab.

The folks behind the concept explain that the various parts of the vehicle would be grown separately:

The interior of the BIOME grows from the DNA in the Mercedes star on the front of the vehicle, while the exterior grows from the star on the rear. To accommodate specific customer requirements, the Mercedes star is genetically engineered in each case, and the vehicle grows when the genetic code is combined with the seed capsule. The wheels are grown from four separate seeds.

And apparently instead of running on regular fuel, the BIOME would run on a mysterious substance called "BioNectar4534" which leaves no by-product other than oxygen.

Yes, it's an insane idea and sounds damn near impossible. But that won't stop any of us from daydreaming about zipping around in a sleek, lab-grown car, now will it? [Gizmag]